Co-Captains?

[kshep]

I hope to hell it was the players decision and not Vanney just making the call.

If the players decided that Bradley should be captain than there's no problem, if Vanney has just made this decision by himself I expect some drama in the locker room.

If Vanney made this call, Why take away the captaincy from Caldwell in what will surely be his last year with TFC and possibly his last year as a professional?

Maybe Caldwell won't be featuring as often this season, in favor of Hagglund?

Can't imagine the club would want to create a controversy, this close to the start of the season that could create locker room tension or division.

I think this is Vanney's first real misstep as manager.

[KRO]

Disappointed with this decision. I'm worried about Bradley's relationship with MLS refs. He needs to keep a cooler head than he had last season.

[Fort York Redcoat]

I think this is Vanney's first real misstep as manager.

IF it wasn't unanimously decided by the players as well. Which we don't know. And won't know.

[kshep]

Hope Bradley doesn't continue his embarrassing routine of complaining and whining about every call that goes against TFC to the on field ref.

Not convinced at all that Bradley is captain material, he certainly did not show it last year, he was more of an embarrassment than anything.

If you going to cry about every decision made against you, your not fit to be a leader of men.

[burlington Red]

Caldwell will be fine with it, he's a seasoned pro.
Personally I wouldn't have given it to Bradley, but with this added responsibility, hopefully he will knock the whiny complaing to ref's on the head a bit, and maybe his level of play will improve after what was for the most part a disappointing return from him last season.
If we can get first game Seattle performances out of him on a regular basis, I will be fine with this call.
.

[Milanista]

isnt caldwell in his last year? they won't re-sign him, plus the guy is pure garbage. Bradley can learn to go easy on the refs, caldwell cant learn how to defend

[Fort York Redcoat]

Hope Bradley doesn't continue his embarrassing routine of complaining and whining about every call that goes against TFC to the on field ref.

Not convinced at all that Bradley is captain material, he certainly did not show it last year, he was more of an embarrassment than anything.

If you going to cry about every decision made against you, your not fit to be a leader of men.

Ours is not the only team he's been captain for. While he's animated there's always room for change.

[kshep]

A good captain does not put his entire side under the bus in front of reporters by stating that the team doesn't have the quality to compete in the league.

Was it an honest assessment of the side? Probably, but you don't want those words coming from your on field leader in front of the media. Why? Because it's deflating to your teammates, who were probably already aware they couldn't cut the mustard.

Nobody likes to have their faces rubbed in it, especially from a guy making 100x what the rest of the squads making.

This is a bad decision if It wasn't made by the players, imo.

[Red4ever]

I like Bradley's fire, but he hasn't shown he deserves to be a captain based on his demeanor.

Caldwell has.

Another stupid move.

[Fort York Redcoat]

isnt caldwell in his last year? they won't re-sign him, plus the guy is pure garbage. Bradley can learn to go easy on the refs, caldwell cant learn how to defend

Caldwell's game has slipped, no doubt but to say he's never been an asset would be wrong.

[Red4ever]

isnt caldwell in his last year? they won't re-sign him, plus the guy is pure garbage. Bradley can learn to go easy on the refs, caldwell cant learn how to defend

Oh a vendetta against all things UK, surprise surprise.

[Canary10]

isnt caldwell in his last year? they won't re-sign him, plus the guy is pure garbage. Bradley can learn to go easy on the refs, caldwell cant learn how to defend

Funny because our defensive record was horrible without him.

[Fort York Redcoat]

A good captain does not put his entire side under the bus in front of reporters by stating that the team doesn't have the quality to compete in the league.

Was it an honest assessment of the side? Probably, but you don't want those words coming from your on field leader in front of the media. Why? Because it's deflating to your teammates, who were probably already aware they couldn't cut the mustard.

Nobody likes to have their faces rubbed in it, especially from a guy making 100x what the rest of the squads making.

This is a bad decision if It wasn't made by the players, imo.

You raise some good points there, k.

One thing to think about though - Even IF they make announcements to the point that the entire team/group agreed upon the decision - Would we believe it? I will be looking critically on reactions to calls this year, hoping to see progress.

But now this will be always in the back of my mind though...

[kshep]

Ours is not the only team he's been captain for. While he's animated there's always room for change.

I guess animated can be used instead of petulant. But when your first instinct is to start yelling and getting in the refs face I'd say you don't have the right temperament to be an on field leader, dressing room leader certainly.

The captain on the field needs to be able to bring a calming presence at times, and Bradley doesn't seem to have that quality, at least he's not shown it yet in a TFC kit. Just go back and watch some matches from last year, and he always the first one to the ref and always complaining/whining. It was and might continue to be an ongoing embarrassment.

[Fort York Redcoat]

I guess animated can be used instead of petulant. But when your first instinct is to start yelling and getting in the refs face I'd say you don't have the right temperament to be an on field leader, dressing room leader certainly.

The captain on the field needs to be able to bring a calming presence at times, and Bradley doesn't seem to have that quality, at least he's not shown it yet in a TFC kit. Just go back and watch some matches from last year, and he always the first one to the ref and always complaining/whining. It was and might continue to be an ongoing embarrassment.

Yet I want the ACTUAL captain to be the first one, and only one talking to the ref so at least he has that down.

[kshep]

Yet I want the ACTUAL captain to be the first one, and only one talking to the ref so at least he has that down.

Well played sir, well played!

[Milanista]

Actually I like the UK, have been to England a few times and the people were great. My hate is for players our fans fall in love with who arent good footballers. All Caldwell does is pass the ball and miss terribly, always out of position and has to make rash tackles causing fouls near the box, is being paid serious $$ for what he does and he pumps the ball up the field playing that stupid style that wont work with our current team bc we need possesion. You really want Giovinco trying to win aerial battles?

Why give a guy an armband if he isnt here long term? Bradley seems to be fully committed to the club and he could learn to be more of a leader..i see nothing wrong with that and i bet the players voted him to be captain

Oh a vendetta against all things UK, surprise surprise.

[KRO]

isnt caldwell in his last year? they won't re-sign him, plus the guy is pure garbage. Bradley can learn to go easy on the refs, caldwell cant learn how to defend

There have been some well written and well argued responses to the decision to make Bradley captain from both sides of the fence. This isn't one of them.

[PopePouri]

LOL at Twitter right now.

[ryan]

Caldwell was the right leader for this team. I hope Bradley has grown up a bit this offseason. His intensity is excellent, just needs to keep in check when speaking to the officials. He won't win us any calls if he has his continued temper tantrums with them.

[Red4ever]

Actually I like the UK, have been to England a few times and the people were great. My hate is for players our fans fall in love with who arent good footballers. All Caldwell does is pass the ball and miss terribly, always out of position and has to make rash tackles causing fouls near the box, is being paid serious $$ for what he does and he pumps the ball up the field playing that stupid style that wont work with our current team bc we need possesion. You really want Giovinco trying to win aerial battles?

Why give a guy an armband if he isnt here long term? Bradley seems to be fully committed to the club and he could learn to be more of a leader..i see nothing wrong with that and i bet the players voted him to be captain

Sorry, did you watch the rest of our backline last year? How screwed we were when he was gone? Are you talking about hucking the ball up the field under Nelson's direction or under Vanneys? or is that a decision Caldwell makes on his own? or is it just you attributing a style to a player, neither which you care for?

I see an old dude, who has lost a step but is far and away our best option at his position who is a better leader than Bradley. Not by much, but he is. And if you are supporting stripping a captaincy rather than waiting a year for Caldwell to go and Bradley to calm down, then the end of your argument is fabricated to justify the means.

[RealG-TFC]

Not necessarily thrilled with the decision.

The only two good reasons I see for doing this is that Bradley's here longterm and that it appears he's the only one on the team that can speak Italian and communicate directly with Giovinco.

[BuSaPuNk]

Step back from the ledge.

Caldwell is a professional and this won't cause any issues. We have a locker room of leaders now. Who wears the armband is just a optical thing.

[Phil]

Honestly this gets the biggest meh from me.

Its a controversy started by the media so they can run a story. How uneventful is this off season when this is the issue? Battling over the right leader is so much more refreshing than players being linked to training camps against club wishes and all the other stuff that typically goes on.

Its an armband and the requirement to go to the coin toss. I bet my dollars on Caldwell getting it back when Bradley is away in international duty. I get the feeling that Caldwell is more than capable of mentally handling this situation as a player / person. I also think he will help and support Bradley in the role.

[burlington Red]

isnt caldwell in his last year? they won't re-sign him, plus the guy is pure garbage. Bradley can learn to go easy on the refs, caldwell cant learn how to defend

Sure he ain't no fancy ball playing centre half, but he organises his backline and is as brave as player as you can find.Don't like reading comments like that on a guy who puts his head in where most wouldn't put their feet.

[Joe Kool]

Not in favour of this decision. I think Caldwell seems like more captain material to me with his demeanor on and off the field. I get that Bradley is the guy they are hanging everything on since he seems to have a hand in every decision the club makes from a management level these days and even taking a contract change to allow Altidore to be signed and yada yada yada. The captain, from my understanding, is the go between for the players and management off the field as well as his on the field duties to lead the team. Bradley seems too close to management and may not be as approachable for the players as Caldwell would be. I am not in the dressing room so maybe I am wrong. Just my impression. I also don't like Bradley losing his shit in the ref's face all the time. I like the passion but we also don't need every ref against us. I just don't agree with hanging every bit of responsibility on one player like they are seeming to do with Bradley. His ego must be pretty huge right now. Hope they are keeping him grounded somehow so it all doesn't blow up in our faces.

[TFC Tifoso]

whether it was Vanney's or the players' decision I think a lot of it come down to the emergence of Hagglund......seeing as he may take some minutes this year - possibly at Caldwell's expense - the last thing you want as a coach is to be forced to have a player out there because he has the armband......

[OgtheDim]

A good captain does not put his entire side under the bus in front of reporters by stating that the team doesn't have the quality to compete in the league.

.

He was not the captain at the time and was right to do so.

The deer caught in headlights nature of that team needed to change.

**********


Not happy with this decision. Will await the first question of Caldwell or Bradley by the media on this at tomorrow's practice. The answer is going to feed the twitterati no matter what.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Step back from the ledge.

Caldwell is a professional and this won't cause any issues. We have a locker room of leaders now. Who wears the armband is just a optical thing.

[kshep]

Honestly this gets the biggest meh from me.

Its a controversy started by the media so they can run a story. How uneventful is this off season when this is the issue? Battling over the right leader is so much more refreshing than players being linked to training camps against club wishes and all the other stuff that typically goes on.

Its an armband and the requirement to go to the coin toss. I bet my dollars on Caldwell getting it back when Bradley is away in international duty. I get the feeling that Caldwell is more than capable of mentally handling this situation as a player / person. I also think he will help and support Bradley in the role.

Well reasoned thoughts.

And while your entirely right that this was an issue originally created by the media, our former captain was asked his opinion and unequivocally stated his hopes, desires and beliefs about what the captaincy of this football club meant to him.

So now it certainly has become an issue that merits more then a "meh" in my opionion.

Caldwell's statements about the captaincy show a man who has a massive amount of pride and love for our much beleaguered club, since he has been with the club he has been the consumant proffesional and provided the only real option of defensive coverage on a terrible club.

In what will certainly be his last year as a professional soccer player, why not allow him the honour of finishing his career captaining the football club he not long ago expressed his true passion for.

TFC somehow always finds a way to come across as a club that doesn't care about its players, imo.

Stripping a guy of his captaincy in his final professional year without merit, just seems shameful. Maybe I'm just too sensitive, but I feel bad for Caldwell, especially since he clearly loves and cares about our club.

Honestly, how many former players do you believe would harbour the same feelings in regards to our club?

I'm sure Caldwell will act professional and support Bradley this year, I hope Micheal has the sense to have an open mind in any advice that Caldwell may think to offer.